A pile fabric which is conventionally used as a floor covering or carpeting, has a sound absorbing property and is used as a sound absorbing material by covering walls or surfaces on which sound may be radiated. However, pile fabric is not well suited for use as a floor covering underlay, a cushioning or as a sound proof material. This is because conventional pile fabrics have inferior elasticity when compared to cellular plastic material, which is conventionally used for a cushioning or sound proof material. Cellular plastic is generally formed from thermoplastic liquid resin composition such as latex, vinyl resin-based emulsion and polyvinyl chloride-based sol.
On the other hand, a cellular plastic material is not suited for use as a covering, though it is adapted for use as a floor covering cushion underlay, since it is not adequately scuff resistant for use in the floor area. Further, it is well known that a viscoelastic material, formed from atactic polypropylene or bitumen composition, is suitable for use as a vibration and impulse sound proof material, but is not applicable for covering of an engine of a car, since it is not heat resistant. Additionally, both cellular plastic materials and viscoelastic materials are inferior in tensile strength and are easily exfoliated between their two (upper and lower) surfaces.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved elastic layer usable for both cushioning materials, such as floor coverings and sound proof materials, such as impulse sound proof materials.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved cellular plastic materials having substantially improved resistance to shear force, tearing or exfoliation with an application of a loop pile fabric to them.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved floor covering having improved physical properties.